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These days, I'm a senior online editor at Forbes. I was previously an editor at Above the Law, a legal blog, relying on the legal knowledge gained from two years working for corporate law firm Covington & Burling -- a Cliff's Notes version of law school.
In the past, I've been found slaving away as an intern in midtown Manhattan at The Week Magazine, in Hong Kong at the International Herald Tribune, and in D.C. at the Washington Examiner. I also spent a few years traveling the world managing educational programs for international journalists for the National Press Foundation.
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TSA agents are on the front lines for public fire over aggressive screening procedures

Attacking the TSA for its privacy-invasive screening procedures has become a favorite activity for many journalists, especially Matt Drudge. TSA horror stories are often featured prominently on The Drudge Report and he has taken to calling Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (of which the TSA is a part) “Big Sis.”

Napolitano, who doesn’t think Drudge “means [the nickname] kindly” said at a recent Politico event that Drudge is wrong in describing DHS programs as Orwellian and that “the privacy impact of new airport screening technology and similar programs are thoroughly vetted before they are implemented,” in Josh Gerstein’s words.

“We want to be conscious of civil liberties and civil rights protections—and we are,” Napolitano said, as reported by Politico.

On the same day as this piece came out, TechDirt reports on a passenger who would likely disagree with the Secretary. After a particularly aggressive patdown in March that might be better termed a feel-up, advice blogger Amy Alkon graphically described how she sobbed loudly while a TSA agent put her hands “into” her — four times. She screamed “You raped me” after the LAX patdown and took the agent’s name with plans to file charges of sexual assault. Those plans fell through after consulting an attorney, but she did blog about it and included the agent’s name, thereby inflicting her own assault — on the agent’s Google search results.

The TSA agent then hired a lawyer who contacted Alkon asking her to remove the post, threatening her with a defamation lawsuit, and asking for a settlement of $500,000. “Rape is a very serious charge,” writes lawyer Vicki Roberts on Thedala Magee’s behalf. She also says that Alkon, on a return trip to the airport in May called her client “a bad person” who had “sexually molested” her.

Free speech lawyer Marc Randazza has stepped in to assert Alkon’s right to post about her patdown experience, and to defend both her definition of the patdown as rape and, regardless of that, her right to rhetorical hyperbole. Techdirt has a copy of the letter Randazza drafted in response to the defamation threat.

“After [the agent Thedala] Magee’s assault on Ms. Alkon’s vagina and dignity, Ms. Alkon exercised her First Amendment right to recount this incident to others in person and through her blog,” writes Randazza. “This was not only her right — it was her responsibility.”

Forced to perform patdowns now required by law, TSA agents are the ones who have to face the public’s anger. Texas abandoned its effort this year to pass a law making overly aggressive patdowns a misdemeanor subjecting agents to arrest and a fine, but bloggers can certainly keep on trying the agents in the court of public opinion. I have some sympathy for the agent whose name will now be linked with rape in Google results for eternity — though it should surely serve the purpose of making her a bit less touchy-feely during patdowns — but I hope Randazza and Alkon persevere. TSA screening procedures have already taken a toll on the Fourth Amendment; let’s not add the First Amendment to the list of victims.

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Never mind, I was suspicious of your Glamour Shots thumbnail, so I Goog’d your photo, then Kashmir’s.

Catfight!

Sweetie, there’s no need for a “contributor” attack a Forbes Staff member because of your jealously over looks, and popularity. We readers are really more interested in the content, not your looks, or lack of them.

I would gladly walk to the airport in the snow barefoot if they would just get rid of those radiation machines. My eye got burned by a milliwave scanner in Moscow and I quit flying after that. Now Moscow is getting rid of them and they are using them here, go figure. I have business there and it’s hurting from me having to conduct everything on Skype or getting people that are going there to do favors for me. Besides the fact that I love traveling and am dying to go to N Zealand. There are alternatives available that don’t require you to be bombarded in radiation and completely passive in nature. I have been prodded in the crotch before and while that stirred my anger, the zappers is what killed it for me. I’m working on putting together charters now just to avoid the madness.

If they were catching terrorist then I might not have such a problem with it. I’m talking about real terrorists and not somebody with a pocket knife or even a gun for that matter. I would feel safer if everyone on the flight had a gun and a knife. They won’t be hijacking any more planes with one. They have hardened cockpit doors, armed pilots and 200 passengers that don’t want to die for that to happen again.

Let’s face it the only threat that could be is from a bomb but they don’t seem to be so concerned about that. If they were looking for bombs then I would be all for it. So that just leaves me to say TSA go away!

The claim of not supporting the TSA is just as hypocritical as Napolitano claim for privacy laws. All of us are not willing to give up personal rights out of overblown fears of strictly hypothetical risks that are unlikely. Unreasonable search and seizure is exactly what is occurring with the TSA. If you support the policies, then be honest enough to say so.

The excuse of ” just following orders ” does not protect a person from prosecution, nor should it. A employee should not be ordered to break the law, but it is all our responsibility to discipline ourselves within the laws.

Acceptance of conditions can only be honestly claimed if all conditions are stated. I doubt that cavity searches are expected by passengers, and I doubt that level of invasion is admitted before the pat down. The very words, “pat down” do not include a cavity search. Furthermore, claims of standard procedure mean little when deviations from standard procedure have been documented. This denial of inappropriate behavior without direct knowledge of the event is why a few crooked cops ruin the reputation of the whole group. Upholding the law should be more important than team spirit.

why can’t you write about the tsa? what’s stopping you? why don’t you blog about how the tsa is really the goon squad that obama promised would be “…a civilian military police force, with as much funding as all wings of the pentagon…” just a few days before a bunch of morons voted him into office, even though ron paul was on the ballot in many states

Truthist, The solution to the problem is rooted in the truth. The truth is one is more likely to die from a bolt of lightning than a terrorist incident. The truth is one is more likely to die from a bee sting. Truth is one is way more likely to die in a car wreck but I don’t see everyone being afraid to drive. Truth is men with beards who live in caves on the other side of the planet are not much of a real threat. I’m sorry you choose to live in fear and swallow hook line and sinker the lies that the fear mongers regurgitate to us on a daily basis that have no relevance to the truth. The official story to 9/11 was debunked even before it was released to the public. It was debunked by people who were on the 9/11 investigating committee itself. The solution is to end the TSA and stop the nonsense.

As far as I understand the world’s airline security industry have a 0% record with catching shoe bombers or underwear bombers before they board the plane. I’ve nopt heard of any that were thwarted at the airport (and I’m pretty sure the TSA would shout it from the rooftops).

The TSA are trying to fight yesterday’s battles. When the next 9/11 comes it will be something different, not a rerun.

Meanwhile the terrorists have won if they manage to change our way of life.